ETI and Ethical Trade

Ethical trade is still a relatively new field, and as yet there is little universally accepted “best practice” in terms of how to develop, monitor and implement a code of practice.

Nevertheless, at ETI we believe that there are a number of basic principles or tenets that underpin any effective and credible approach to ethical sourcing. These include the following:

• ETI considers voluntary codes of labour practice as complementary and not an alternative to the proper enforcement of national and international labour laws, and believes that such codes should be implemented in ways that help, and not hinder, the application of law.
   
• ETI believes that codes of labour practice should be based on internationally agreed labour standards, and that the most relevant standards are those set out in the Conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
   
• ETI believes that the tripartite structure of the ILO, involving both employers’ and workers’ representatives as well as governments, together with the technical expertise of this organisation in all matters relating to the world of work, make the ILO the authoritative and legitimate source of international labour standards. The ETI Base Code is based on the principles underlying key ILO Conventions.
   
• However, ETI’s experience also underlines the importance of involving local stakeholders – their perspectives, knowledge and concerns – in the implementation of the codes.
   
• ETI sees the adoption of a code as just a starting point. A true commitment to ethical sourcing also involves committing adequate resources, communicating the code throughout the sourcing company and the supply chain, ensuring that relevant staff have appropriate skills, monitoring your suppliers, helping suppliers make improvements, reporting on what you find in your supply chain, and supporting the verification of these findings.
   
• ETI believes that companies committed to ethical sourcing must require their suppliers to meet agreed standards within a reasonable timeframe, and that performance in this regard should ultimately be a pre-condition for further business.
   
• However, ETI recognises that the observance of some provisions in the ETI Base Code may not be immediately realisable in all cases. Some suppliers may be unable to meet all the terms within a short time or, in some cases, they may be constrained by national law. Therefore, reasonable timeframes and the existence of any constraints not controllable by the supplier may be taken into account.
   
• Nevertheless, ETI believes that failures to observe certain standards require rapid corrective actions if the sourcing company is to continue any business relationship with the supplier concerned. These include the use of forced, bonded or involuntary prison labour, as well as physical abuse or discipline, and extreme forms of intimidation.
   
• ETI also believes that code implementation – from the design of an ethical sourcing strategy and monitoring and verification procedures, to the agreement and implementation of corrective action plans – is strengthened by the involvement of stakeholders other than companies. Key stakeholders are those organisations who represent workers (trade union organisations), and other organisations who work to defend workers’ rights and address workers’ concerns (e.g. relevant NGOs).
   

See also:

ETI Base Code and principles of implementation